Chronicles: The Makings of a Streetwalker

[Lisa]

I'm not to sure where I'm running to, but what I'm running from is what's important. No ten year old should have to live this life. No ten year old should have steal from the market, just to have something to eat that day. No ten year old should be deprived by his mother and father because their money goes to, what they would consider more important things - which only means my mothers drinking and my fathers obsession with bar wenches. No ten year old should have to witness first hand his father beating his mother, knowing that he's next in line for the abuse.

No ten year old should be raised in Tortuga at all.

Finally I stop and turn around, panting to catch my breath when I notice how far I've gotten. To be quiet frank, I'm not sure I'll even be able to find my way home. Do I want to? Running a hand though my sweaty, long, blond hair, I turn around and continue onward, only this time a bit slower. The trees are getting thicker and I can hear a stream trickling near by. I must be on the outskirts of town now. Not that I really care. I want to find the stream, so I follow the sound. It gets louder the closer I get and finally when I push through the brush, I find a huge waterfall. I stare at it in awe for a few moments before kneeling down at the stream. My reflection looks horrible. There's dirt all over my face with tear streaks in it and my hair is completely disheveled. I look as though I've been running for my life.. Or.. Running from my life..? Either one.. You pick.

Cupping my hands in the water, I splash some on my face to get the dirt off, then some in my hair to cool me down. After, I look at my reflection again, this time without the dirt, and I can see the black eye my father gave me a few days ago. With a frown I sit back against a tree and look up at the waterfall.

I find it quiet ironic how life seems so peaceful out here, when not to far from here life is a hell on earth.

[~ Mistress Beckett ~]

Nothing seems to stir as I pad through the grass to my favorite place. There's an enormous waterfall with a little stream that is my place of refuge. Everything is serene, quiet (besides for the roaring of the waterfall), and peaceful here. I come here whenever I need a little break from my life. Of course, I'm not saying my life is horrible or anything. I'm just saying it could be better.

My father works with the East India Trading Company. He's a very respectable man. Everything he meets fears and respects him...including me. My father doesn't like me much. I knew that from the beginning. He had always wanted a boy, but somehow, he got cursed with me instead. I think that's kind of unfair. It's not like I had a choice about being a girl.

My mother...well...she's kind of a different story. She makes her money in a very different sort of way than my father. Every morning she puts on her pretty makeup, beautiful dresses, and heads to the streets. She comes home all disheveled and flustered from trading tricks. Father pretends to ignore what she does and we never speak of it. Once, my sister said something about my mum being a prostitute. Father slapped her and we never spoke of mom's "job" again.

My sister is two years older than me. We get along...sometimes. She's usually nice to me, but there are times when she wishes I don't exist. I can't blame her though. I mean, there are times when I wish she didn't exist as well. But for the most part, I'm glad she's my sister.

We all live on the edge of Tortuga. It's a nice place. It's even nicer that this lovely waterfall is so close by. Picking my way across the weeds, I look up and see the waterfall only a few feet away. Grinning widely, I yank both my shoes off and run towards it at fall speed. I'm about to go stepping into the stream when I suddenly realize I'm not alone. A blonde boy is already kneeling by the stream.

[Lisa]

It seemed as though hours passed as I sat there watching the water crashing down into the stream. And I could have spent hours more doing the same thing. It was the only place I could get any peace and quiet. I tried to clear my mind but I had so many thoughts ricocheting around it seemed almost impossible.

Letting out a deep sigh, I leaned up to the stream again to take a sip of the water. Part of me wished I had payed attention on my way here; I noticed it was starting to get dark out and I had no idea how to get back to town. Also I wouldn't mind coming back here again. It was a nice get a way.

But for the first time since I found this place, a noise pulled me from my thoughts. It sounded almost like a stick cracking and the rustling of the brush. Perhaps it was just an animal... Perhaps it was a large animal. I slowly looked around to see if I could find the source of the noise. It didn't take long for me to see the young girl in a pretty dress frozen and staring at me... So I decide to just stare back for a long moment. I instantly wonder about her. Who is she? What's her name? My eyes drift down to her feet.. "Where's your shoes?" I hear myself saying out loud rather then in my head like I meant to do.

[~ Mistress Beckett ~]

I tilt my head as the blonde boy looks up at me. I can't help but wonder what he's thinking as he's just sitting there by the stream and staring at me. Staring always makes me uncomfortable. I've always thought that if someone has something to say, they should just go ahead and say it. Keeping it in certainly doesn't help anyone. I wait to see what the boy will do. He gapes at me for a few more moments before he randomly asks where my shoes are. For some reason, this makes me laugh. I mean, out of all the things he could've asked me, he decides to ask me where my shoes are.

Smiling, I say, "They're just down by the tree to your left. I was going to go wading in the water. It's really quite nice." Seeing nobody to stop me, I go ahead and step into the water. It's crystal clear, cool, and feels really good on my feet that have been stuffed in little shoes all day long. I take a deep breath and sigh as I breath in the fresh air. It's so nice out here. Too bad I can't stay here for forever.

Looking back down at the boy, I suddenly have questions. It's rather odd that he happens to be here. I've never in my life seen someone here before at my little stream or waterfall. Tilting my head at him, I ask curiously, "Who are you anyways? And how did you find this place?"

[Lisa]

For a moment I wondered why this girl was giving me such an odd look. It seemed as though she thought I was strange. Well I'm not the one walking around in the woods without any shoes on! Of course, when I say something about her shoes by accident, I feel a bit foolish for not coming up with a better introduction.

I glance at her shoes when she points them out and when I return my gaze to her, she's making her way into the water. I get up and decide to climb on a low hanging, thick tree branch which goes all the way out over the water. Slowly I inch my way out toward the water as I watch the girl with curious eyes.

"My names Ragetti." I answer her first question and hang onto another branch to go farther over the water. "And I sorta just..." I look back the way I came then back at her, "Well I sorta just stumbled on it.. Never knew it was here before." There was no way I was telling this stranger how I really ended up here. Subconsciously, I bring my hand up to my black eye before grabbing onto another branch. I glance at her again.

"What's your name?"

[~ Mistress Beckett ~]

I watch the boy curiously as he makes his way along the tree branch over the water. He's kind of a queer sort of boy and not like most boys I see in town. Usually, boys either tease me or fawn over me. This boy just stared at me though.

He was also still looking at my feet with an odd expression on his face. Was wading in the water considered a crime or something? I blushed a little and considered getting out of the water.

When he asked my name, I answered quickly, "I'm Giselle. If you want to give me a nickname, that works though too." I pause for a moment and think how it is curious how this boy just happened to stumble across the waterfall. This isn't really a place you just happen to stumble upon. It's kind of in the middle of nowhere.

As I watch the boy closely, I notice he has a black eye. Normally, I would've kept my mouth shut, but since he was bold enough to ask about my feet, I decide to ask about it, "What happened to your eye?"

[Lisa]

For some reason I find myself oddly amused by the way she's so careless about going in the water with bare feet. Many girls would have been taught that that's improper and would have been afraid of what they might step on. Part of me likes that she's not like normal girls. Normal girls are boring.

Her odd response makes me raise an eyebrow. "A nickname?" I repeat. "What kind of nickname? Do you have a nickname?" Perhaps she has one that she'd rather use then her actual name..?

I climb a bit farther out, keeping a wondrous eye on Giselle. When she asks about my black eye, I frown to myself a bit. What would happen if I told her the truth? Pops always told me not to tell anyone because it's legal to beat your kids and it would only make me look like the fool. So usually when someone asks about the marks he leaves on me I make up an insane story that no one really believes but they get a good laugh out of it anyway.

Once I get far enough over the water that I'm right by where Giselle is standing, I sit down and let my feet dangle. "Oh, this ya mean?" I point to my black eye and smirk. "I got into a fight." I turn my gaze from the water to Giselle and smile, "With a pirate.."

[~ Mistress Beckett ~]

I watch Ragetti as he starts to dangle his feet in the water as well. He's standing close to me and I can get a pretty good look at him. We look like we're about the same age. It's funny really. I mean, I know most of the children from the area. Had this boy's family just moved here?

To answer the question about my nickname, I merely shrug, "I don't really have one. Some people call me Elle, but it's up to you what you want to call me. I don't care."

I can't keep my question to myself anymore. It pops right out of my mouth, "Are you new to town? My father knows most of the townsfolk and I know most of the children. I've never seen you before."

Then I contemplate his last response. He's teasing me, right? He didn't really get into a fight with a pirate. At least, I don't think he did. So I just laugh and say, "Oh sure you did."

[Lisa]

The nickname she mentions makes me give her a funny look, "I don't like it." I tell her, not caring if she takes offense to it. "If I'm to call you by a nickname, I'll have to come up with my own.." Looking her up and down, I try to come up with a good one but I decide I don't know her well enough yet.

"Yeah.." I take my own shoes off and throw them, one by one, next to hers, then allow my toes to reach the water a little. "We just arrived from England a little over a year ago." I frown a little, missing my old life and my old friends. Ever since we moved to the Caribbean everything just went down hill. I let out a deep sigh, then I realized what she said. "So wait.. You and your father know everyone?" I look at her, "So what is he, some kind of a big shot around town?"

I frown at her sarcasm. "Course I did!" I forced myself to sound as serious as possible. "Down by the docks one night, he threatened me and naturally I had ta stick up for myself." I look away then glance at her from the corner of my eye to catch her reaction to my story. "Bloody pirates," I mumble.

((I'm guessing this is going to be when Tortuga wasn't as bad as we're meant to think it is during the series? Otherwise I don't think her father would be in the EITC and live at a pirate port..? So maybe it's not a pirate port until they get a little older..))

[~ Mistress Beckett ~]

I frown when Ragetti says he doesn't like my nickname. He seems like a really straightforward kind of guy. I don't really have a problem with that; it just takes some getting use to though. Usually, guys tell me my name is pretty.

"Well, come up with your own then or just call me Giselle," I say a-matter-of-factly to shy that I have not taken offence to the fact that he didn't like my nickname.

I knew I had been right about him being new to the area. I knew that from the moment I set eyes on him. He just didn't look like he belonged here. To answer his question about my father, I said, "He works for the East India Trading Company. He's very respected in town." I pause for a moment and then decide to reciprocate the question, "So what does your father do?"

I'm still not buying his story about pirates. He may think I'm a gullible little girl and will fall for everything, but I'm not. Frowning, I shake my head, "I still don't believe you."

(Oops, yeah, you're right about that. Her father probably wouldn't live at a Pirate port then! Um, yeah, can we just pretend it's not a pirate port until they get a little older then? )